Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We've heard a lot from the Albanese Labor government, whenever there is an issue, that they blame the previous coalition government. Well, the Albanese government has been in power for over 3½ years. When will this government take responsibility for its failures?

The sound that echoes along the busy hallways of our regional hospitals and through stricken aged-care facilities in my electorate is the sound of a ticking time bomb. This government is sitting on an aged-care crisis that is, quite frankly, about to explode—and I don't think Labor even realise it. This bomb sits right in the middle of our aged-care system. On 1 November, when Labor's new Aged Care Act came into effect, they supercharged the problem. There was no proper education campaign. No-one explained what these changes meant. There were just confused elderly Australians opening letters, wondering why they were suddenly paying more than before. We promised older Australians they would be no worse off. That was the guarantee. But that guarantee is gone, and right now the clock is ticking.

Between now and July next year is open season for providers to crank up their costs. In my electorate, this is no exaggeration. The offices in Kadina, Port Pirie and Whyalla are inundated by calls from people with questions about aged care. In fact, we've had to dedicate staff to handle the influx of emails and calls from people in need. It truly is a desperate situation. For every second that Labor waits to act, a pensioner in regional South Australia loses a little more dignity. This is the reality of the aged-care time bomb. It is going to cost lives.

This government loves a one-size-fits-all plan, but a plan made for the city does not work for the bush. My electorate is bigger than the whole of New South Wales. Older constituents must drive or be driven hundreds of kilometres for the most basic care. City solutions do not work in Grey. Imagine finding out that the extra money you spent on fuel must now stretch even further because your provider increased prices. It is truly heartbreaking. This bomb is ticking in hospitals as well. Labor has failed to deliver beds—only 802 new residential aged-care beds, when the system needed 10,000 new beds every year just to keep pace. That is a total and abject failure. Because there are no beds, our elderly are trapped in hospitals when they've no medical need to be there. They are effectively homeless within the health system.

I'd now like to share, not for the first time in this parliament, a harrowing story of a constituent in Grey who has been totally let down by Labor and this aged-care crisis. This is a confronting tale. This story comes from Virginia in Kadina, whose partner, James, was diagnosed with dementia last year and has been stuck in Wallaroo hospital since January—since January! He cannot return home. His condition has become violent and he is a flight risk. Police have had to retrieve him from the main street four times. James was bounced between Maitland, the Lyell McEwen and respite care, only to be returned to a hospital bed because there are no secure memory support units available on the Yorke Peninsula. The system is failing them. Virginia has been pressured by hospital staff to provide daily care because they are too thinly stretched. She was even terrified by a recent discharge request, fearing he would be sent home where neither of them would be safe. Her only hope is to wait for a bed in Gawler, which would force her to uproot her entire life. James is being forgotten, and Virginia is being left behind.

This government must stop neglecting older Australians. The problem is absolutely real. Time is running out, and the pressure is critical. If the government do not act, if they do not cap these prices, if they do not deliver the beds and if they do not clear the waitlist backlog, this crisis will explode. The consequences for Labor won't just be political; they will have lives on their hands. Stop the clock, fix the mess, and give our elderly the dignity they deserve before it is too late.

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